7 hours ago, Soapsuds said:

1986

Wow, thanks.

10 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Decided to post this here as Irna was most associated with ATWT. It's from Variety, early 1970.

Irna Phillips, grand dame of daytime serials has terminated her exclusive agreement with P&G.

The prolific writer of daytime strips gave up a pact that committed her services through 1976.

She has been exclusively under contract to P&G for the past six years- her release means she has departed ATWT which has ranked as the highest rated daytime program for the past 12 years.

Miss Philips, in from her Chicago home disclosed her change of status at a press conference set up by ABC TV to promote the webs new serial 'A World Apart' created and written by Miss Phillips daughter Katherine which debuts March 30. Irna Phillips will be story editor for the series on a non-exclusive basis.

Miss Phillips said she asked for her release for three basic reasons.

"First I want to help my daughter. A World Apart is the first series created by Katherine who has previously worked as a writer on ATWT.

Secondly I wanted time to write my autobiography which will called 'The Ivory Tower' or 'Its A Mans World -And Should Be', she said, noting she favored the latter title.

And lastly I wanted to be free!

Miss Phillips interpretation of free translates to non exclusive. She expressed considerable dissatisfaction with the restraints the exclusive contract had put upon her creative efforts in the recent past,

'I'm  a terribly self disciplined writer'', she said and in 40 years of experience I think I've learned what can and should be put on the air. I resented the continual tinkering and script conferences that were part of the exclusive pact. Its a rapidly changing world and daytime serials have to keep abreast or ahead of the times. There were things I wanted to do and couldn't so I got out.

She has much enthusiasm for the new strip.

'Its indeed a world apart that we live in. Race is separated from race, parents are alienated from children and we hope to sew it up a little in A World Apart.'

Asked if she had any control over the casting of her serials she said,' This is the first time-producer director Tom Donovan and I have some say in the matter and it helps. You tend to write for the actor or actress who plays the role and its nice to cast the part with someone whose work you actually like.

All of which sounds like a writer rather than a story editor talking but Miss Phillips insists her daughter is the creative force behind the serial.

She originated the radio serial concept in Chicago 40 years ago.Her 'Todays Children'was a long time staple on network radio, and was followed by The Guiding Light which marked her transition from radio to tv writer. She also originated the first half hour serial ATWT and created or co created Another World and Days of Our Lives.

 

Interesting that she only lasted a year at A World Apart. I wonder if she and Katherine clashed?

That exclusive P&G contract must have come about after she signed as aconsultant with ABC in 64 for a year. P&G musn't have liked her working for the opposition. Irna probably got top dollar from both of those deals.

By early 72 she was back at ATWT. Maybe she insisted on more control as ATWT slipped from the top in her absence and CBS wanted her back.

Anyway,always fascinating to read an interview and try to get a fix on where she stood.

Someone needs to do a documentary on her, It's a pity her children were never interviewed.

Thanks for posting this. 

It's like I posted in a different thread in this section: soaps have a very difficult time with innovation on any level. They don't do it very often. Phillips was voted down when she wanted to ditch the organ music when The Guiding Light was finally brought to television (another change that P&G resisted for years, as they wanted to keep TGL on radio, while Phillips immediately wanted to bring the serial to TV as soon as the technology became available) because Phillips worried that the organ music, which she deemed unnecessary for a visual medium like television, would become a trope that would be easily mocked. 

Phillips wasn't always right and Lord knows she had a history of being unkind, at times, but she was clearly right in these instances.

I think her constant battles with P&G and her even more frequent bouts with self-doubt clearly embittered her and also gave her a world view that a woman in a man's world was always going to be constrained.

If Irna was under an exclusive contact with Procter & Gamble from around 1964 to 1970, how was she able to be involved with both Days of our Lives and Love is a Many Splendored Thing? I don't believe, though could be wrong, that either show had anything to do with P&G.

Something very interesting that I picked up on when I watched an episode from November 1986. Frannie Hughes, while in London, was having a conversation with a PhD candidate in child clinical psychology, Dr. Hildebrand whose focus, among one other speciality, was autism.

I wonder whether this was there earliest reference to autism in a daytime soap?

The quality of this episode is poor, so, at times it can be hard to make out some bits, here and there but Dr. Hildebrand was definitely clear on autism.

Normally, I avoid these gossipy blogs and vlogs but I actually recognized the subjects in this particular video. When the host described the situation as a soap opera and then proceeded to yell "Soap opera music!" And OMG, guess what theme music was used at the :22 second mark??😵😂

 

Actually, the music begins around the :16 second mark.

My God, he's petty though!

Thoughts on all The Margo's on ATWT

 

Also why did they cast such young actresses in Veleka Gray and Anne Sward to play Mom to Margo, Cricket & Craig

1 hour ago, John said:

Thoughts on all The Margo's on ATWT

 

Also why did they cast such young actresses in Veleka Gray and Anne Sward to play Mom to Margo, Cricket & Craig

Feels like that one has been already discussed at length in this thread.

Marland's typewriter is shown here.

 

This is a similar model on ebay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/114474714322

Some great photos in here.  Glad to see Jon surface after being MIA for so long...

https://jonhensleymusic.com

 

 

I read on Facebook that he had a single out. I was like Holden Snyder sings?😂

Edited November 23, 20214 yr by Soapsuds

Well, count me in as someone who had no idea that Hensley sang.

The men on the show didn't often sing as much or as often as the women did. There were a few exceptions, like Bob's duet with Kim at their wedding reception. This seemed to be in contrast with some other '80s soaps that had seemed to have their fair share of singers (Michael Damian, Rick Springfield, Jack Wagner).

On 11/18/2021 at 11:10 PM, allmc2008 said:

Marland's typewriter is shown here.

 

This is a similar model on ebay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/114474714322

The Lily paternity reveal in the barn looks hilarious without dialogue...Fichtner's reaction looks like it came from a silent movie (of course, the Snyders and their barnyard incest antics were my least favorite part of the show...)

I know Richard Backus from Ryan's Hope and For Richer or Poorer wrote on ATWT (per IMDB), but I was under the impression that he played Jason Benedict, the guy who Iva married - is that false?

54 minutes ago, j swift said:

I know Richard Backus from Ryan's Hope and For Richer or Poorer wrote on ATWT (per IMDB), but I was under the impression that he played Jason Benedict, the guy who Iva married - is that false?

RICHARD BACKUS

 

LOVERS AND FRIENDS/ FOR RICHER, FOR POORER   Jason Saxton   1977-78

ANOTHER WORLD             Ted Bancroft             1979

RYAN'S HOPE                     Barry Ryan         1980-81

BARE ESSENCE                Alan             1983

AS THE WORLD TURNS        Dr. Russ Elliott   1984-85

                                   Attorney Karl Eldredge           1991-93

 

 

Agent  Jason Benedict   John Hutton        89      

 [District Attorney; tried to prosecute Paul Stenbeck; later married Iva Snyder]

                                       Jonathon Hogan   92-93           

 

Much appreciated @slick jones, I wish your thread had its own tab because it is should a valuable resource and so much more specific than IMDB

 

Do you have info on his ATWT characters?  Was Karl related to the other Eldredges?  Was Russ involved with Iva?  And was Richard Backus a writer or is IMDB incorrect?